Rev

Did you all know you can cross them with other genera? Some mammilaria and obregonia i think ?

i guess this belongs in another thread but here goes... Kerala is a democratically elected socialist state in India Basically its a capitalist market economy but the socialist ideal of healthcare, education (for both sexes) and welfare is followed - it shows a a stark contrast to the rest of india and is a favourite for sustainable development case studies showing how responsible governance like this can do marvellous things But i insist that Only private affluence (and a democratic parliament) can prevent public squalor - as i heard today on the radio re Gough whitlams term in the 70's A healthy dose of socialism isnt at odds with capitalism - some things are just too important to leave to market forces. You take away property rights and everything gets ruined - Soviets You take away all government support and society crumbles - USA (they still charge bloody taxes though!) Somewhere in the middle is my bet

Gomaos i think ill just clear up a few things No i do not believe in the same set of social rules, customs and ideals as are held by the Indian peoples No i do not believe in Rebirth, at least the dogma of Hinduism or Buddhism preaches That said i also dont believe that the rich in india are responsible for the poors belief and the truth is that all castes suffer under the burden of their birthright Who they may marry, what occupation they may fill etc etc it is an intensely rigid form of society And i can totally see why it was abandoned By the pakistanis and bangladeshis in favour of Islam which prohibits the caste system I think you need to rexamine your approach as well Making Indias rich pay more taxes sure - but make them care? i dont think you can make anyone care - especially if there is a deeply held belief that life is inextinguishable no matter how depraved it gets. You - especially a foreign influence - can have very little influence on what happens in domestic indian politics. Like a family they have to sort it out themselves for it to mean anything The attitude that we can march in and change these countries is incredibly arrogant There are somewhere in the order of a billion Indians and 20 million Australians and theyre a major economic power and justifiably proud of their history and way of doing things. Saying we should do away with Hinduism because it doesnt fit in with our system of values is like Bush saying hell take pre-emptive military action and initiate 'regime change' whenever he feels like it I dont think The Post-colonial powers get the concept of minding their own business, well we know they dont given the current world state. Its all good to say India should be communist but to do so would mean social collapse, milions starving and bloody retribution for all India will change, it is changing, but on its own terms - its got a 400 year colonial hangover and its done a hell of a lot in under 60 years of existence- which included a civil war - despite economic and political racism and discrimination. And its got guts and self-determination - unlike the leadership of this country Take Ghandis example and see just how progressive India can be and how much we have to learn. You can have quiet revolutions where no blood spills - because all generations die and they take a lot of bad habits with them each time if society decides it wants to progress Do you ever hear much in the news of a state in India called Kerala? Probably not But we should

Sure - me too Ive just ordered some seed from South Africa to increase the number and diversity of my collection So any hints on growing from seed?

I dont agree. Capitalism, that is, a fair and honest interpretation of of what that means would see the world in a vastly separate situation than it is in now.Firstly there wouldnt be the problems of deforestation, Pollution and massive debt because the kind of exploitation that occurs when foreign capital meets people with no secure title to what obviously is theirs, whether it be the Aboriginals in Australia or the Dayaks of Borneo. You can take your title deed to the bank here and borrow against it to improve your business or educate your children, the biggest problem indigenous peoples and people in developing countries face is that they cannot do this, despite having obvious ownership of the land they live on Capitalism runs on Confidence and in partiular the confidence in ownership that motivates people to work for that ownership, and to develop and conserve assets If people legally own their environment then they can enter into loan and cooperative projects to develop their capital - and the ownership implies that gross exploitation like clearfelling is detrimental. This can be demonstrated in places where communities take title of their environment seriously and manage it democratically. Like Councils in environmentally aware areas, or even in suburbs with high home ownership rates. In situations like these yull find great opposition to most forms of exploititive development. If Land title reform suddenly became the key word in the developing world i think youd find that the 'Poorer' nations wouldnt turn out to be as poor as they seem Theres more of them, they know there is no future in poverty and they dont mind a bit of hard work and cooperation - if they really have that 'Capitalist confidence' and so a guarantee that the work they do will be rewarding. So i think what the Capitalist system really relies on is confidence and ownership, the latter being a legal formality and the former a symptom of the former. We could alleviate so many problems so simply - but as the west profits greatly from this inequality i cant see this changing. Secondly about the beggars. Theres not a grea deal you can do about that (except giving them the legal rights to the dump and allowing them to start a recycling empire Its a very deep social problem in India. But to them its not a problem. The whole system relies on belief in Hinduism, that your current status is your own fault for bad deeds in the past. If you are lame, poor or suffer great misfortune then essentailly you cant blame anyone but yourself And likewise the rich see no imperative to help beacuse poverty is in a sense seen as self inflicted. And there is a different circle of time operating too. There is no one life, so the urgency to get yourself out of your current predicament is seen as a generally less important than making sure you are a good hindu and this doesnt happen again Its sick and its beautiful. On one hand there is so much misery, but on the other, It doesnt matter as much because it is just one in the many turns of the wheel and you can believe that if you are good you too will be rich oneday. If your at the botom and beleive in the 'steady advance' hypothesis then its all quite cheery really. Whereas if you have one life only and dont believe in an afterlife or on one wholly dependant on adherence to social custom ... You'd revolt god dammit! One other point... Today 6 Americans died and one Israeli and the world mourns In the month of march more than 300 000 Iraqi civilians will die We will be able to fairly judge our own humanity by the response...

I know a guy who smokes them (cube caps) He says it make the world like 'pleasantville' ?! I also know another guy who injected some sub juice... Ever found someone in the toilet doing rock art with their own faeces? not good not good Im glad i wasnt there to see that one, goddamn, lucky he has good freinds Yet another 2 guys take subs and a MAOi and go raving says its great because when every one else is looking strung out as the e wears off they are feeling great having fought hard and danced through the heart of it and come out the other side smiling These guys are hardcore though - less adventurous souls should stick to plain cubes or e's In a dream a gnome i knew once had drunk Amanita and cannabis leaf tea and was feeling nice so tried to smoke a mushroom cigarette but got no noticeable effects.

As the co-ordinator for the AFSR - which by the way is not runng at the moment tho' there will be a permanent PO box address to contact us via by early next week Im sure i could help you on the cultivation side of things as i do plenty of searching myself and i get letters coming in with seed telling me of peolples discoveries and experiences I can certainly tell you about what grow in the west , and give some historical details on how long theyve been there WA has some interesting paragraphs on Phalaris, Catha, Pachycereus and Trichocereus to be written. as well as the shennanigans that go on in balingup Theres also issues surrounding Poppy seed imports worth covering as well as some info on the existence of escaped populations of P somniferum and P setigerum on the east coast

Hey gom I disagree that meat eating is because of Tradition or simply because we are used to it Meat TASTES GOOD Most of us know this already but in scientific terms, there are receptors in our palate that respond to the tastes of meat and they are mostly pleasing, backing up the fact that we are omnivores. Even Buddhist monks shape their tofu into meat shapes and textures to try and bring some satisfacton back to the meal In terms of its health, lean clean (synthetic hormones, anitibiotics and adrenaline minimised or lacking) meat is quite nutritious. Protein, amino acids, vitamins, fatty acids and minerals like Zinc and Iron. Were lucky in Australia that if you look you can still find a farmer who kills there own meat, properly, where they keep the animal fairly relaxed, then zip.., throats cut with a razor shape knife and its all over... the meat is so much nicer this way. Not too expensive either if you prearrange a whole carcass for the deep freeze - of course this is to be done on the quiet as its not really allowed as is venison from a guy i met in the SW who lets them roam his property and picks them off with a rifle when needed. I wonder if in future we'll be able to buy 'unstressed" meat from naturally doped animals ( put out to pasture on the valerian ) with tested limits on adrenaline Regarding antibiotics, theres a fair bit of research going into Pro-biotics these days to replace them. Lets wish them luck But we live so long these days that its probably a good idea to reduce intake relative to physical age and start to replace with alternatives several times a week. Meat is rich enough to build a body but you wont need so much to maintain it Theres also the way we eat it and what parts we eat A chargrilled large steak is going to have more detrimental effects due to its sheer bulk and the by products of cooking than a smaller amount of more nutritious cuts Carnivores usually tuck straight into the viscera before consuming the rest more casually, especially pack hunters where the dominant animals get first choice. B12 is also found in significant quantities in Mushrooms and in fermented foods (as mentioned) I think the value of fermented foods is understated in our modern diet Kim chee, Sauerkraut, Tempeh, moulded cheeses,Natural beer all taste a hell of a lot better than their consutuents and are more nutritious.

For those who dont want the responsibility of chickens and have an area to clear - sau youve just moved into a new rental property and its all couch and kikuyu grass Collect old carpet, plastic sheeting and large cardboard boxes lay cross the soil and weight down on the edges. leave for at least 6 weeks - bingo no more grass and the worms will have turned the dead weeds into nice soil It works very well if there is weight on it, the more weight the faster it works then mulch over the top and plant straight into it - too easy

Torsten i was wondering how wandjina is going to cope with this issue given the eucalypt vegetation on the upper slopes and also the grass in the cleared areas? I guess even rainforset burns in years like this

I have seeds forming on my pink Aptenia - i thought this was a hybrid? seem healthy enough- ill see if the germinate. I also have some old old sceletium seed ive unearthed. Ill try an aseptic germination around march to see if they can be ressurected any idea on viability lengths?